Norman Lear Talks TV Today, Trump, ‘All in the Family’ Feuds
Toward the end of Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, a new doc about the TV visionary and political activist, Amy Poehler attempts to sum up Lear’s impact. “Do you know how fucking hard it is to make people laugh, to tackle big issues and get big ratings?” she tells an audience at an event honoring Lear. “It’s so hard that people don’t even do it anymore.”
The audience claps, and Lear smiles, but the TV game-changer says now that he doesn’t quite agree with the assessment. There’s hope, he says. “South Park has taken on major issues, and Seth MacFarlane doesn’t shy away from things,” the TV legend says via Skype, his signature white sailing hat perched atop his head as he sits in front of stacks of books, his 2015 memoir on display. “And there are shows like Transparent that tackle transgender issues, and in dramatic television, people put a tremendous amount of effort to include political and difficult topics.”
Nevertheless, it seems unfair to compare any show to the revolutionary canon he helped create in the Seventies: All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, Sanford and Son and Good Times, among others. Later this month, Lear will turn 94, but he hasn’t retired; he’s executive-producing a new take on One Day at a Time for Netflix later this year. He has a personal drive that the career-spanning doc, which comes out in theaters Friday, contextualizes well, with the movie covering everything from a difficult relationship with his dad to becoming a voice for political secularism – and, of course, all those TV shows in between. It’s a passion, he says, that’s built from a love for all walks of life. In fact, if there’s one thing he’d like to see more of on TV, it’s diversity.
What social issues do you wish you saw more of on television these days?
I wish we were recognizing the leadership we don’t have across the board in establishment America. I’m part of a show called America Divided, and my episode focuses on living in New York City.
I couldn’t believe that a doctor or lawyer with an average income and average practice cannot afford to live in New York City anymore. Also, it bothered me to learn that African-American, Hispanic and other minority families are being forced out of apartments that they are legally entitled to live in, because landlords want to rent the apartments for more money. These are difficult times and we need more attention paid … certainly in the media.
On the subject of leadership, what do you make of Donald Trump?
I think he represents the middle finger of the American right hand.
Now there’s an image.
I think people understand that about him, too.
What TV shows today make you laugh?
South Park and Modern Family are funny. I love The Carmichael Show and Black-ish. Those really make me laugh. And I like Louis C.K., but I haven’t seen his new show yet.